WCTH Season 5, Episode 3
by Genevieve Giuffre' Mayor
Summary: This is the 2nd installment of "Hard of Hearts"..., and unlike most cliffhangers, there will be a third part coming to wrap everything up :)


Continuation of "Hard of Hearts" - Part two. By Genevieve Mayor & Lori Hughes :)

Season 5, Episode 3

\- Jack's thoughts were conflicted. How and why could this have happened? What did this savage know about his sweet Elizabeth? Where could she possibly be? Was she cold, hungry, or worse- ill? The thoughts were almost more than he could bear, but he said a silent prayer to the Lord to help give him the strength he needed to quiet his thoughts, and focus on the task at hand. He knew he needed to rest his horse, as the poor animal had ridden so hard and for so long, but he was reluctant to take the extra precious time. The longer Elizabeth was with this maniac, the more in danger she would be. He rode on, determined to save his beloved if it was the last thing he would do.

Meanwhile, another set of riders were wrestling with their own thoughts. It was definitely getting colder as Bill, Frank, Lee, and Jesse rode toward Eagle Ridge. They were unsure if that was the general direction to travel, but they didn't know of any other place to go, and the weather reports they heard earlier indicated that the further north promised more treacherous conditions, including sleet and ice. Normally the more jovial of the men, Lee was solemn as he wrestled with his own thoughts of leaving Rosemary on such a cold day with the potential for nasty weather. He knew she would want him to do everything he could to help find Elizabeth, but his heart was torn for he wondered if this captor had other "friends" in town who might potentially cause problems for the others. He tried to push these thoughts out of his mind and reassure himself that his Rosie was not going to let anyone go down without a fight. She had Abigail and the other women to care for as well, and he knew they would take comfort from her take-charge approach. That thought made him smile and eased his mind a bit.

Elizabeth eyed her captor carefully, wondering if he would ever let down his guard, even for a brief moment so that she could somehow steal away. Claude Rankin was not a man to be reckoned with, however. Standing over six feet with muscles from hard labor and an intensity to his expression unlike any she had ever seen, Elizabeth was frightened of what might be in store for her if she tried to run.

"Teacher, you don't look too good. You should try to eat a little. Put some meat on your bones. You're too skinny." His mannerisms were gruff, but the surprisingly tender way that he seemed concerned for her health revealed to Elizabeth that this man might just have a heart beating inside. She tried a slightly different approach, imploring him to talk to her and seek what she could from his plan.

"I might be able to eat a little, but my hands are tied so tight. My wrists are beginning to hurt." She spoke quickly, but quietly, trying not to upset this gruff man and implore him to take pity on her. If she could just win him over, even a little, she might have a chance. He stepped over to inspect her a little more closely, and grunted a bit as he looked at her wrists. The instantaneous relief she felt as her captor loosened the ropes binding her wrists made her dizzy for a brief moment. She needed to figure out a way out of here, but where could she go? Who would find her? What if Jack was on his way to her right then and had to deal with this man alone? No, she could not run. That much was certain. But what would she do? Her head began to pound as her nose began to run. The falling temperature was beginning to worry her that much more. She said another prayer for God to watch over Jack, wherever he might be.

Abigail watched as Cody walked slowly toward the schoolhouse with Dasher in tow. She could feel his heartbreak over his beloved teacher, and knew his frustration was mounting with each hour that Elizabeth was gone. First, Becky left him to attend school, then he had to say goodbye to Jack and worry for his safety every day in the Northern territories, and now his teacher was in danger. She knew his heart was breaking, and she was determined to do everything she could to help him find something comforting and productive to help take his mind off of things. The other children looked up to Cody, and she knew that if she gave him a task to lead, he would do it with everything he could, even if it meant that he couldn't join the men in finding Elizabeth. As much as Cody wished otherwise, he was still just a little boy.

"Cody," she called. "I need you to do something for me, love."

"What is it, Mom?" As long as she lived, Abigail didn't think she could ever tire of hearing those sweet words of "Mom" in her ears.

"When Elizabeth comes home, she is going to want to have a clean and warm school to return to. Can you gather some of the other students? Some of you can collect firewood, and others of you can begin to tidy up inside. Do you think you could do that for me? Be sure to help the little ones like Opal. They're worried too, and want to help. Maybe they can write some sweet prayers for Ms. Thatcher and place them on the Wishing Tree?" Since Christmas, the folks of Hope Valley decided to leave the Wishing Tree up and use the opportunity to try to help others with their hopes and dreams. Abigail knew that now, more than ever, Hope Valley's favorite teacher needed some of those wishes to come true.

"I can do that, Mom. See ya!" Abigail was happy to see the pep return to Cody's steps as he and Dasher headed off toward the schoolhouse to gather the others. She didn't hear as Gowen approached her from behind.

"Abigail?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, Henry, you startled me!"

"I'm sorry. I am just wondering if you know which way the men were planning to head to look for Elizabeth?" His bright blue eyes were shadowed with concern, and she was touched by how much Henry had changed since his accident and time in jail. It had made him much more aware of others' emotions, and Abigail was grateful for his helpfulness and commitment to the citizens of Hope Valley.

"Henry, I'm afraid I don't."

"Well, my concern is that there is some pretty bad weather headed this way. Reports are calling for frozen rain to start falling later this afternoon, and I'm worried that the men are going to put themselves in some pretty serious danger. I know they have no choice, and if I didn't have this leg injury to keep me here, I'd go myself." Abigail knew that his quick ride to bring Becky home at Christmas was harder on him than even he was willing to admit to himself, but she was glad that he wasn't trying to ride out after them.

"Let's keep the prayers going, Henry. Come to the café for some coffee to warm up. We will see if the ladies have other ideas for what we can do to help."

Bill didn't like the look of the sudden shift in the clouds over the past hour. They were moving so rapidly and with a grey fullness to them that promised frozen rain. They needed to take shelter somewhere. But where would they go? How could they possibly stop now? Jack and Elizabeth needed them. He looked back at Lee and noticed he was riding slower than before, and Jesse was as well. His natural instincts told him they should head back toward Hope Valley. It was an itch that he couldn't quite settle. Frank rode up next to Bill and looked at him questioningly.

"Bill, is something wrong? Besides the weather I mean?"

"Frank, there's something in me that's saying we need to turn around and head back. I can't put my finger on it. It seems strange, but I think we need to return to Hope Valley."

"Bill, if there's one thing I have learned is that when God is sending a message, we should never ignore Him. Let's take it to the others and see what they say."

The conflict in the Northern territories had helped to prepare Jack for unexpected dangers, but even that extra preparation could not comfort him when his bride-to-be was in such imminent danger. How could he leave Elizabeth alone in Hope Valley? His duty to protect the citizens in the Northern territories was strong, yes, but so was his duty to his Elizabeth. She was his sun and moon and stars. Why did he think she would fend for herself without him? He should have been there. He shouldn't have left. No matter how hard Jack tried to push these thoughts from his mind, they kept bubbling to the surface. He knew he shouldn't waste any further energy on the what-ifs and should focus on rescuing her from this danger, but he couldn't help but punish himself for his decisions last spring to leave her behind. The strong voice of his mother suddenly came to him: " _Jack! You are being ridiculous. Get a hold of your emotions, my son. You are stronger and better than this. Do what you need to do. Stop beating yourself up. Elizabeth needs you. Now get to it and find her! She's waiting. You need to go home now. You'll find her there."_ Jack said a silent prayer of thanks to God for sending him the strong reassurance of his mother when he needed to hear it the most. Although his mom was many miles away, he knew God has sent her words to him to give him the extra encouragement he needed. His determination was strong as he dug his heels to his horse's side to encourage him to gallop faster toward the place he now knew he needed to go.

Pastor Frank's recent sermon on Psalm 28 echoed in Elizabeth's mind as she shivered in the growing dusk. She replayed the words in her mind: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and He helps me." Her eyes watered from the cold wind that blew across the open prairie, but she knew that it wasn't just the wind that was causing her tears-she was frightened. She looked around her at the beauty of this land which held such promise for her and Jack so recently. She was also angry at this man for bringing her here to this place of refuge and hope. How dare he encroach upon what was to be their place of solitude and peace! She began to feel her pulse quicken as she suddenly knew what she needed to do.

Abigail and Gowen walked in silence toward the café. As they neared the entrance to the café, Abigail got a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. Something didn't quite seem right. It was quiet. Too quiet. As she stepped inside, the first thing she noticed was that the candles were not burning at each table, and the darkness left an uneasy feeling. The next thing she noticed was the presence of two huge men whom she didn't recognize sitting at one of the tables. Both were heavily armed and one of the rifles was pointed at her and Henry.

"Let's not make a fuss, Miss Abigail. You both play nice, and no one will get hurt."

Meanwhile….

Jack was about to turn down the Main Street back at home in Hope Valley when he saw a very unwelcome and familiar face. Claude Rankin had come from some obscure hiding place to greet him back into town. Jack halted his horse and demanded the villain tell him where he had hidden Elizabeth. But Rankin wouldn't tell him. Jack demanded he tell him. And with that Rankin bolted from sight. Jack turned his horse and tried to follow him, but Rankin had given him the slip. Thoroughly disgusted, Jack turned around and headed to town. Galloping ever closer to Abigail's Café, he noticed the lovely dining spot to be unusually quiet, so Jack quietly dismounted his horse, readied his pistol, and peered cautiously in the window of the café to see Abigail and Gowen detained at gunpoint by two surly-looking rogues. Quickly Jack thinking on his feet devised a plan to help Abigail and Gowen. He made a rustling outside which caused one of the thugs to investigate outside. Without so much as a leaf crunching underfoot, Jack pounced from his hiding place, and struck the stalky rogue on the head. Before Jack could decide how he was going to leave this guy alone while going in to help Abigail and Gowen, he spied Bill and the other men riding back into town. As he motioned towards them, he heard the other outlaw inside the café yelling after his companion. Bill rode up, hopped off his horse and assisted Jack in handcuffing the unconscious man on the ground. Bill stayed put with him now as Lee and Jesse also dismounted and helped Jack enter the café. Jack cocked his gun and entered the café…and immediately the other outlaw turned his pistol towards Jack as a horrified Abigail looked on. But before this surly rogue could shoot his gun, Jesse came from a back door and surprised everyone, and knocked the big intruder off his feet. This provided the necessary distraction that Jack needed to cuff the other outlaw, much to Lee's relief. Rosemary must have sensed the excitement because she popped in at that exact moment to see a bunch of relieved grinning faces. "Lee Coulter!", she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? I thought you boys were out looking for Elizabeth?! Who is this ruffian?" They all glanced about at each other. "There's a terrible winter storm headed our way", Bill spoke up. And then Lee also chimed in, "We also had come back to get more blanket supplies and saw Jack in quite a predicament, so you might say 'duty calls again!'"….."O Lee, I'm so glad you're ok! All of you, for that matter….but poor Elizabeth out there in this frigid weather!". Elizabeth was never far from any of their thoughts, but Abigail's relief at her escape from harm in her own café only heightened her fright for her very dear friend. Jack interjected, "Abigail, can you please pack us some of your coffee, we're gonna need it". Abigail nodded and with Rosemary's help gathered thermoses of coffee and chicken noodle soup.

In the midst of the success at Abigail's café, Elizabeth felt so feverish laying on the cold damp ground, that she felt as if she was losing all consciousness. Another full day in the freezing weather with nothing more than her sweater and she was now very ill. Claude Rankin had lit a fire and was trying to nudge her to take a sip of the soup he was heating up at the campfire. But she didn't budge. "Hey teacher, take another sip of my soup". But no response. Rankin touched her and feeling how cold she was wondered if she had died. He first started to flee, but then he started to think of his men who had died in similar conditions. Just then, he thought he heard a hushed groan come from his captive. And for a reason he couldn't explain, he turned around, picked up Elizabeth, set her on his horse and decided he had to head towards town.

Now the sleet was falling quickly to the ground as the men were about to start off again with Jack to find Elizabeth. Cody and his classmates who were happy at their successful cleaning of the schoolhouse, parted company at the café, and Cody went in to excitedly tell his mom how clean the schoolhouse was and how happy it would make Miss Thatcher. But seeing the men return, and see Jack there without his teacher, Cody's worries returned. Dasher was at his side, hanging his head in woe as if he too was feeling the worry that emitted from the room. Looking at Dasher, Cody suddenly got an idea, glanced quickly at Abigail and rushed over to Jack's side. "Mountie Jack, why don't you take Dasher with you? Maybe if he had Miss Thatcher's scent, he could help you look for her out there in dark?"….Jack looked at Abigail who was smiling a hopeful grin through her worried tears….not to mention a bit of pride in her son's intuitiveness. Jack smiled at his young friend, "That's a great idea, son, I'd appreciate Dasher's help". Both Jack and Abigail knew where Elizabeth hid her spare key outside her row house, and Abigail went in to grab Elizabeth's night shawl so that Dasher could hopefully pick up her scent somehow in the sleeting woods. Frank had gathered Rosemary, Molly, and Florence to ask them to pray while the men headed out once more. Back at the infirmary, Dr. Carson and Nurse Carter readied things should Elizabeth need medical attention. The men mounted their horses and rode as fast as they could, in the dark, sleeting night. Gowen who had been quiet for some time, watched them ride off, and saw Abigail walk towards the church to join her friends in prayer for Elizabeth, and bowed his head in prayer too.

The sleet was fierce, the wind howled, and even though Rankin was a tough customer, he too was starting to feel the chill fill his bones. He was determined to press on with the young lady. He knew if she had a chance to survive, he had to do what he could to get her to help. But the falling, freezing rain was blinding, and very disorienting. It was almost impossible to tell which direction was which. How was he ever going to get the young woman to the help she needed?

…To Be Continued...


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